At its lengthy November 23 meeting the Greenbelt City Council approved without comment two consent agenda items of public interest: the resignation of three members of the Forest Preserve Advisory Board (FPAB) and the scheduling of a public hearing to be held on December 14 on the possible purchasing of 10A
Crescent Road, the Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI) townhouse that adjoins the Greenbelt Museum.
FPAB Resignations
An item of interest from the consent agenda of this meeting was that among a number of reappointments to advisory groups were resignations by Robert Snyder, Yoni Siegel and Donna Almquist from the FPAB. As has been played out at city council meetings and worksessions for many months, not to mention in the letters and paid ads of this newspaper, these three members in particular disapproved of the 6 to 1 decision made by city council in awarding a contract to A. Morton Thompson and Associates of Rockville to evaluate the condition of the Forest Preserve (see the October 15 issue of this paper).
The remainder of the board concurred with council’s decision to award the contract. Items on council’s consent agenda are understood to move forward without comment or formal motion, so the resignations were accepted without discussion. Review of the resignation letters indicates that they reiterate the same concerns previously expressed by these members, including opposition to the nature of the firm selected, actions of the city staff and convictions that there should not be consideration of revisions to the maintenance guidelines or any active management of the forest.
Council and the majority of the board have been of the opinion that the information and data to be collected about the health of the forest will be valuable to have and that the city is under no obligation to pursue any specific recommendations that might be made.
10-A Crescent
The city may have an opportunity to purchase the GHI townhouse at 10-A Crescent Road. This house is the other half of the duplex that includes the city owned Greenbelt Museum. The family now selling the house has resided in it for more than 50 years. A variety of museum-related uses have been suggested for the house. Council will hold a public hearing to receive comments from residents about this possible purchase during its regular meeting of Monday, December 14. The purchase is supported by the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum.